Archive for December, 2012

There has been an exploding demand for native English speakers to teach English in South Korea. English programs and English academies have been spreading like wildfire all over Korea. And, due to an unpredictable economy, many university graduates, travelers, and people from all walks of life are packing their bags and taking advantage of the English boom in Korea.

Korean institutions are paying good money ($2,000-$2,500 a month) and offering excellent benefits (free housing, 30 hour work weeks) to Westerners who are willing to explore the unfamiliar, pack up their bags, and teach in thriving South Korea.

This is the complete guidebook on how to relocate to South Korea and become an English teacher. This book illustrates the many advantages (low taxes, high standard of living, friendly people, safe streets) and challenges (dating, language barriers, disciplining students, getting along with co-workers) that the first time teacher can expect to confront in Korea.

Funny, fact filled and always informative, “First Contact in Korea: A Native English Teacher’s Journey Into The Backwoods of South Korea” provides the necessary knowledge you need to make the most out of the experience. Jam packed with practical information, “First Contact in Korea: A Native English Teacher’s Journey Into The Backwoods of South Korea” addresses all of the topics and taboos a prospective English teacher needs to know, from finding the right job and negotiating a contract settlement to avoid eating dog while ordering food off of a menu.While other books focus solely on classroom experience,“First Contact in Korea: A Native English Teacher’s Journey Into The Backwoods of South Korea” explores life outside of the classroom, providing you with an in-depth and often hilarious guide to Korean culture, food, friendship, drinking, dating, religion, health and history are just some of the subjects discussed in detail.Last but not least,

“First Contact in Korea: A Native English Teacher’s Journey Into The Backwoods of South Korea” looks at the embarrassing realities of life abroad, offering pause for thought on such issues as learning how to pronounce Korean students’ names, a 15-minute golf lesson I got in Korean that increased my driving distance 20%, my interactions with my Korean co-worker “Kid” who confesses to me that he was accused by his ex-wife of burning down her house and the cheapest and best eye surgery I’ve gotten in any country. “First Contact in Korea: A Native English Teacher’s Journey Into The Backwoods of South Korea” will awaken readers to the transitional opportunities available in a place that shares few Western customs but many of the comforts of home.

Written by Brian Ward, a semi-qualified middle school teacher whose walked the fine line between sanity and a nervous breakdown in the classroom, “First Contact in Korea: A Native English Teacher’s Journey Into The Backwoods of South Korea” is an irreverent and insightful survival guide for anyone brave enough to try their hand at teaching English in South Korea or who just wants to have a laugh at author Brian Ward’s backwards approach to living in Korean culture.

This guidebook also compares teaching in the USA to teaching in Korea.

_______________________________________________________

Country

Salary(Year)

Yearly Taxes

Yearly Housing Expenses

Total Remaining

Korea

$26,000 + 50% of medical bills paid

$780

$0

$25,220

USA

$35,000

$8,000

$8,400

$18,600

_______________________________________________________

“First Contact in Korea: A Native English Teacher’s Journey Into The Backwoods of South Korea” by Brian Ward, can be found on Amazon.com

Here is a chapter by chapter synopsis of the book:

Chapter 1 Dreams vs. Getting a Paycheck

This chapter profiles author’s friend Nick Lee, the hedonistic boozer surrounded by books, half-finished paintings and an old LP player — speaks in English rather than Greek or Latin. Prodigious nose, has been retooled as a heroic pretty boy. As Nick Lee’s life finally falls apart due to alcohol and lack of physical contact with women, the author decides to get on a plane to Korea. Upon his arrival to South Korea, he is taken back when he learns the true meaning of “Hair Shops” in Korea.

Chapter 2 Academy Owners

This chapter discusses the 4 major types of academy owners as well as which category I was working for. This chapter also discusses my “first contact” with my boss and Korean co-workers. This chapter reveals what a failure I am at teaching and includes the letters I received from Seoul which explained where I should improve. Introduced in this chapter is Carlo, an English teacher famous for drinking with Russians, getting bit by his students and his travels throughout Morocco.

In this chapter I get fired from my first job and start a new job. I am also forced to learn a little bit about Korean culture in order to be able to converse better with my students. Also introduced in this chapter is Jackie and the story of his dog “Blackie.” Also discussed is the Korean co-worker culture and what that entails.

Chapter 3 First Non-Monopoly Month in Class

I learn which class tattled on me for playing Monopoly every day in class. I also try different techniques for disciplining my students. I also discuss the advantages of talking with the students versus making them do exercises and what makes talking to the students so difficult. Also discussed is more of Carlo’s antics outside of the classroom. I finally get the bright idea of discussing the rules in class. I meet Carlo again out of class and we discuss the problems of his life; mainly how to deal with a belligerent student who happens to be the boss’ daughter in class.

Chapter 4 Bars and Churches

There are two types of English teachers in Mokpo, those who hang out in the bars and the other who hang out in church. Frankly I was getting tired of hanging out with the English teachers in bars. I decide to go to church instead. On my first day of church I discover that there is free orange juice and cookies served after each session. I meet Ms. Jung who explains to me why the street in Korea are so clean and how it affects retired Korean people. I also get my first private English student. Jackie’s house becomes haunted by a ghost and he reveals how to chase ghosts away. I go to my first baseball game.

Chapter 5 Modem vs. Router

I have my first run in with Korean modems and their downfalls. Jackie comes to my rescue and gives me some much-needed internet advice.

Chapter 6 Golfing in Korea

I meet my first Korean golf instructor who gives me best golf lesson ever using no English. Using my new-found golf skills I decide to golf a few rounds of golf with my new co-teacher George and his brother.

Chapter 7 English Meetings at Angel-In-Us Café

In addition to going to church, I join another group in Korea. This one is and English group that is run by my Korean friend Jackie. This group becomes a great way to meet new friends and discuss current events in Korea. Next, my former roommate, Carlo, gets taken to the police station and I talk to him before he gets deported from Korea. I also meet my replacement who’s teaching at my previous academy.

Chapter 8 4th of July in Korea

Author goes to a 4th of July party with his new-found church friends. He meets another English teacher named Tareck. Tareck is famous for kicking chairs across the classroom to get his students’ attention as well as living in the same apartment as his nudist boss.

Chapter 9 Kidman

Brian meets his first English-speaking co-teacher who goes by the name “Kid.” During their first time out for a hike together Kid confesses to Brian that he was accused by his ex-wife of burning down her house and that he likes dating Japanese women.

Chapter 10 Modem vs. Router

I have my first run in with Korean modems and their downfalls. Jackie comes to my rescue and gives me some much-needed internet advice.

Chapter 11 Golfing in Korea

I meet my first Korean golf instructor who gives me best golf lesson ever using no English. Using my new-found golf skills I decide to golf a few rounds of golf with my new co-teacher George and his brother.

Chapter 12 English Meetings at Angel-In-Us Café

In addition to going to church, I join another group in Korea. This one is and English group and is run by Jackie. I find another way to meet new friends and discuss current events in Korea. Carlo gets taken to the police station and I talk to him before he gets deported from Korea. I also meet my replacement who’s teaching at my previous academy.

Chapter 13 Lesson Plans

Brian reveals the most effective way to plan for his classes; by downloading lessons plans off the internet. Included in these lesson plans is sample menu that is used to help the students role-play the purchasing of a hamburger in class.

Chapter 14 Dating in Korea

Brian shares four case studies of native teachers (males) who are dating Korean women. Included in these case studies are the reactions of the host-woman’s friends, families and social network.

Chapter 15 Surgery on a Budget

Brian get learns the difference between hospitals in Seoul (where the rich Koreans go) and all other hospitals in Korea. Brian finds the best value in Korea which is eye surgery which is priced at $2,500 in Korea vs. $28,000 in the United States. While in the hospital Brian meets an American man named Roman who’s been living in Korea since the 1970′s and publishing a book about a Post-Apocalyptic New England town. When Brian asks Roman who his book publishing agent is Roman replies, “The guy’s an idiot, he’s 62 and has just had his 6th child with his 3rd wife. What kind of a life is that kid going to have?”

“First Contact in Korea: A Native English Teacher’s Journey Into The Backwoods of South Korea” by Brian Ward, can be found on Amazon.com

“Take whatever you can get, instead of going after what you really want. Take what’s safe and certain. Settle. Start paying down a mortgage and quit whining about your dreams,” I would often hear when asking others for career advice.

I guess what people figure is that if they drone on you for long enough about what they want you to do, you’ll forget what it is you really want to do. I had to take a few days just to clear out my head of all the advice everyone had given me and try to remember what my dream was in the first place.

“What do you really want to do in this life?” I asked myself. “Travel the world for free,” I answered.

I decided to visit the career center website at Chico State. I entered “Teaching English in Korea” into the search engine and clicked on the link. A table then popped up on my screen comparing a teaching job in Korea with one in an American high school.

Country

Salary(Year)

Yearly Taxes

Yearly Housing Expenses

Total Remaining

Korea

$26,000 + 50% of medical bills paid

$780

$0

$25,220

USA

$35,000

$8,000

$8,400

$18,600

It was time for a different path in life. After seven months of waiting, I finally got a job with a Korean recruiter in Seoul (before any native English teacher can be hired from the US or Canada, they first need to go through a recruiting agency that places them in a job in Korea – most of the recruiting agencies are located in Korea). My new job was at an English academy in Southern South Korea. All I needed now was to get a South Korean visa.

I got my visa in the mail a few weeks later and departed for Korea in March of 2010. As I was clearing customs in Seoul, I ran into another American who was also coming to Korea to be a teacher. I recognized him from the San Francisco airport, he was probably the only person in Korea with a mullet. Not only did he arrive to Korea with a haircut seen sparsely outside of North American trailer parks, he had gone out of his way to sculpt the tail into a “V.” My conversation with him would be repeated thousands of times during my stay in Korea. “In which city do you work? What’s the name of your academy?”

I explained to him that I didn’t work in Seoul and actually lived on the other side of the country from Seoul. I fought hard to avoid living in Seoul. I had seen too many documentaries about the guys in Tokyo whose job it is to cram bodies into the subway before the doors closed. I also didn’t want to end up in the Korean Ozarks. I settled on a medium-sized town called Mokpo. Mokpo is a port city located in the southwest corner of the Korean peninsula. Mokpo’s population is approximately 280,000. Mokpo tends to be a few degrees cooler in summer and a few degrees warmer in winter compared to Seoul. It was also one of the few cities in Korea whose name I can pronounce.

If you ask anyone Korean from Seoul what they think of Mokpo, they will promptly turn up their nose at you and say, “Mokpo not Korea,” meaning that Mokpo is a “cultural backwoods” compared to Seoul – or in other words, Mokpo is to Korea what Hillsboro, West Virginia is to the United States. Or to be put another way, Mokpo is to Korea what David Hasselhoff is to acting, it’s ok to joke about it with your friends but it doesn’t make for polite dinner conversation when you’re hosting important guests over for dinner.

__________________________________________________

Everything You Wanted To Know About Teaching English In Korea But Were Afraid To Ask

There has been an exploding demand for native English speakers to teach English in South Korea. English programs and English academies have been spreading like wildfire all over Korea. And, due to an unpredictable economy, many university graduates, travelers, and people from all walks of life are packing their bags and taking advantage of the English boom in Korea.

Korean institutions are paying good money ($2,000-$2,500 a month) and offering excellent benefits (free housing, 30 hour work weeks) to Westerners who are willing to explore the unfamiliar, pack up their bags, and teach in thriving South Korea.

This is the complete guidebook on how to relocate to South Korea and become an English teacher. This book illustrates the many advantages (low taxes, high standard of living, friendly people, safe streets) and challenges (dating, language barriers, disciplining students, getting along with co-workers) that the first time teacher can expect to confront in Korea.

Funny, fact filled and always informative, “First Contact in Korea: A Native English Teacher’s Journey Into The Backwoods of South Korea” provides the necessary knowledge you need to make the most out of the experience. Jam packed with practical information, “First Contact in Korea: A Native English Teacher’s Journey Into The Backwoods of South Korea” addresses all of the topics and taboos a prospective English teacher needs to know, from finding the right job and negotiating a contract settlement to avoid eating dog while ordering food off of a menu.While other books focus solely on classroom experience,“First Contact in Korea: A Native English Teacher’s Journey Into The Backwoods of South Korea” explores life outside of the classroom, providing you with an in-depth and often hilarious guide to Korean culture, food, friendship, drinking, dating, religion, health and history are just some of the subjects discussed in detail.Last but not least,

“First Contact in Korea: A Native English Teacher’s Journey Into The Backwoods of South Korea” looks at the embarrassing realities of life abroad, offering pause for thought on such issues as learning how to pronounce Korean students’ names, a 15-minute golf lesson I got in Korean that increased my driving distance 20%, my interactions with my Korean co-worker “Kid” who confesses to me that he was accused by his ex-wife of burning down her house and the cheapest and best eye surgery I’ve gotten in any country. “First Contact in Korea: A Native English Teacher’s Journey Into The Backwoods of South Korea” will awaken readers to the transitional opportunities available in a place that shares few Western customs but many of the comforts of home.

Written by Brian Ward, a semi-qualified middle school teacher whose walked the fine line between sanity and a nervous breakdown in the classroom, “First Contact in Korea: A Native English Teacher’s Journey Into The Backwoods of South Korea” is an irreverent and insightful survival guide for anyone brave enough to try their hand at teaching English in South Korea or who just wants to have a laugh at author Brian Ward’s backwards approach to living in Korean culture.

This guidebook also compares teaching in the USA to teaching in Korea.

_______________________________________________________

Country

Salary(Year)

Yearly Taxes

Yearly Housing Expenses

Total Remaining

Korea

$26,000 + 50% of medical bills paid

$780

$0

$25,220

USA

$35,000

$8,000

$8,400

$18,600

_______________________________________________________

“First Contact in Korea: A Native English Teacher’s Journey Into The Backwoods of South Korea” by Brian Ward, can be found on Amazon.com

Here is a chapter by chapter synopsis of the book:

Chapter 1 Dreams vs. Getting a Paycheck

This chapter profiles author’s friend Nick Lee, the hedonistic boozer surrounded by books, half-finished paintings and an old LP player — speaks in English rather than Greek or Latin. Prodigious nose, has been retooled as a heroic pretty boy. As Nick Lee’s life finally falls apart due to alcohol and lack of physical contact with women, the author decides to get on a plane to Korea. Upon his arrival to South Korea, he is taken back when he learns the true meaning of “Hair Shops” in Korea.

Chapter 2 Academy Owners

This chapter discusses the 4 major types of academy owners as well as which category I was working for. This chapter also discusses my “first contact” with my boss and Korean co-workers. This chapter reveals what a failure I am at teaching and includes the letters I received from Seoul which explained where I should improve. Introduced in this chapter is Carlo, an English teacher famous for drinking with Russians, getting bit by his students and his travels throughout Morocco.

In this chapter I get fired from my first job and start a new job. I am also forced to learn a little bit about Korean culture in order to be able to converse better with my students. Also introduced in this chapter is Jackie and the story of his dog “Blackie.” Also discussed is the Korean co-worker culture and what that entails.

Chapter 3 First Non-Monopoly Month in Class

I learn which class tattled on me for playing Monopoly every day in class. I also try different techniques for disciplining my students. I also discuss the advantages of talking with the students versus making them do exercises and what makes talking to the students so difficult. Also discussed is more of Carlo’s antics outside of the classroom. I finally get the bright idea of discussing the rules in class. I meet Carlo again out of class and we discuss the problems of his life; mainly how to deal with a belligerent student who happens to be the boss’ daughter in class.

Chapter 4 Bars and Churches

There are two types of English teachers in Mokpo, those who hang out in the bars and the other who hang out in church. Frankly I was getting tired of hanging out with the English teachers in bars. I decide to go to church instead. On my first day of church I discover that there is free orange juice and cookies served after each session. I meet Ms. Jung who explains to me why the street in Korea are so clean and how it affects retired Korean people. I also get my first private English student. Jackie’s house becomes haunted by a ghost and he reveals how to chase ghosts away. I go to my first baseball game.

Chapter 5 Modem vs. Router

I have my first run in with Korean modems and their downfalls. Jackie comes to my rescue and gives me some much-needed internet advice.

Chapter 6 Golfing in Korea

I meet my first Korean golf instructor who gives me best golf lesson ever using no English. Using my new-found golf skills I decide to golf a few rounds of golf with my new co-teacher George and his brother.

Chapter 7 English Meetings at Angel-In-Us Café

In addition to going to church, I join another group in Korea. This one is and English group that is run by my Korean friend Jackie. This group becomes a great way to meet new friends and discuss current events in Korea. Next, my former roommate, Carlo, gets taken to the police station and I talk to him before he gets deported from Korea. I also meet my replacement who’s teaching at my previous academy.

Chapter 8 4th of July in Korea

Author goes to a 4th of July party with his new-found church friends. He meets another English teacher named Tareck. Tareck is famous for kicking chairs across the classroom to get his students’ attention as well as living in the same apartment as his nudist boss.

Chapter 9 Kidman

Brian meets his first English-speaking co-teacher who goes by the name “Kid.” During their first time out for a hike together Kid confesses to Brian that he was accused by his ex-wife of burning down her house and that he likes dating Japanese women.

Chapter 10 Modem vs. Router

I have my first run in with Korean modems and their downfalls. Jackie comes to my rescue and gives me some much-needed internet advice.

Chapter 11 Golfing in Korea

I meet my first Korean golf instructor who gives me best golf lesson ever using no English. Using my new-found golf skills I decide to golf a few rounds of golf with my new co-teacher George and his brother.

Chapter 12 English Meetings at Angel-In-Us Café

In addition to going to church, I join another group in Korea. This one is and English group and is run by Jackie. I find another way to meet new friends and discuss current events in Korea. Carlo gets taken to the police station and I talk to him before he gets deported from Korea. I also meet my replacement who’s teaching at my previous academy.

Chapter 13 Lesson Plans

Brian reveals the most effective way to plan for his classes; by downloading lessons plans off the internet. Included in these lesson plans is sample menu that is used to help the students role-play the purchasing of a hamburger in class.

Chapter 14 Dating in Korea

Brian shares four case studies of native teachers (males) who are dating Korean women. Included in these case studies are the reactions of the host-woman’s friends, families and social network.

Chapter 15 Surgery on a Budget

Brian get learns the difference between hospitals in Seoul (where the rich Koreans go) and all other hospitals in Korea. Brian finds the best value in Korea which is eye surgery which is priced at $2,500 in Korea vs. $28,000 in the United States. While in the hospital Brian meets an American man named Roman who’s been living in Korea since the 1970′s and publishing a book about a Post-Apocalyptic New England town. When Brian asks Roman who his book publishing agent is Roman replies, “The guy’s an idiot, he’s 62 and has just had his 6th child with his 3rd wife. What kind of a life is that kid going to have?”

“First Contact in Korea: A Native English Teacher’s Journey Into The Backwoods of South Korea” by Brian Ward, can be found on Amazon.com

Faridy, my Mexican love interest, was into doing what made her feel the most joy in any given moment.

“Do you want to go out to eat?” I’d ask.

“No, but I’ll go with you if you want,” Faridy replied.

Once the tamales arrived, we decided to go to the plaza to eat them. Once we got to the plaza Faridy decided the tamales smelled good and would eat mine. I didn’t mind, I loved watching her hands gently unfold the crumbly cake as she smelled the week-old boiled corn husks. She didn’t want any of her movements to seem the least bit arousing or forward. Her uninhibited greasy-handed eating put me even more over the top in love with her. Apparently I wasn’t the only one. As cars drove past us in the plaza men would honk their horns and yell, “Bon appetite, good-looking!”

During my visits to see Faridy, I’d ride Mexican buses (the thing I hate most in life) halfway across the country to be with her for one night. These visits were certain to arouse drama. In some instances she’d push my hand away from hers in the movie theater for fear of who could be watching. Other times, like my last visit to her summer camp, she was the polar opposite.

I unpacked my clothes next to the bed where I planned on sleeping (the floor below her). As I unpacked, she walked down to the base of the stairs and gazed at me cross-eyed for ten seconds. I struggled to read her mind. Sensing my bewilderment, she volunteered her source of unease verbally, “Is that where you are planning to sleep?” Before I could respond, she stormed back up the stairs. I quickly threw my stuff back into my backpack and followed her up the stairs. I didn’t have a pillow or blanket, so how did she expect me to sleep on a bare mattress next to her?

I didn’t push the matter because it was barely afternoon and we’d have plenty of other things to fight about before bedtime. The day passed like old men in bathrooms. My mind flickered in and out of the activities we did with Mexican youth. I was in charge of 15 Mexican middle-schoolers. Our team competed in everything from obstacle courses to sandwich-making. Nightfall finally came. I was very apprehensive about sleeping with Faridy. During the barbeque, I didn’t even bother heating my hot dog over the fire, I ate it raw. I threw my trash away and ducked into the shadows on my way to the second floor of the cabin where I knew Faridy would be sleeping. Before going inside the cabin, I took a look at the second floor windows, no evidence of anyone lurking upstairs. I let myself in and crept up the stairs. I had no idea of who would be in the room with Faridy, or even if she’d be in there. When I opened the door, I saw three mattresses. Faridy had made me a bed on the far right of the three. I quickly parted the two beds and put my mattress in between the other two, guaranteeing a ringside seat with Faridy, no matter which mattress she slept on.

My blanket was little more than a flannel sheet and the cabin had no insulation to keep out the cold. I stripped down to my underwear and hid under the sheet, waiting for Faridy. What happened next may have been 20 seconds but felt like two hours. The cabin light came on and I peered out from under my sheet to see who was coming inside the room. It was Faridy and her male camp counselor companion, Mogly. I pretended to be asleep as Faridy verbally objected once again to the sleeping arrangements. She shuffled the beds yet again and I hid powerlessly under the flannel sheet like an abducted foreigner in a game of Russian roulette. The lights went out again. This time I was once again on the outside. I looked over at the swelling under the blanket in the bed next to mine. Something was thrashing under the covers. I feared the worst. I rolled over and faced away from my sexless bed mate. Just then a voice in Spanish echoed out from underneath the covers, “Are you going sleep with your back towards me?” I had no idea what to do next, I was a 26-year old shivering under a paper thin blanket with a beautiful Mexican girl inches away from me.

I finally got the nerve to turn in her direction. By that time she had rolled to the other side of her mattress. I had to do something, I put my hand underneath her covers. I felt my hand run into her back. I started to pull up her sweatshirt. After getting through that layer, my hand still didn’t feel her bare skin, there was yet another sweatshirt to penetrate. After peeling off two more could I still feel another sweatshirt. I asked her in a low voice as to not arouse Mogly, “Faridy, can you take off a sweatshirt and loan it to me, I’m cold.”

“Get your own sweatshirt,” She replied. I immediately hit the brakes and abandoned my pursuit.

I lacked the fundamentals when it came to relationships with women. Applying my skills from high school didn’t improve the situation.

The two most beautiful girls in my high school were Michelle Salinas and Sara Pemberton. Michelle Salinas was considered one of the coolest girls in the school because she went to Raves in the Bay Area on weekends. Most of her male friends had facial hair and various parole violations. I knew there would be no chance for me to be popular her clique of friends. I had one group project with her for English class. It was a five person group and we met at Ethan Robert’s house and tried to put together a documentary about an eastern European family coming to America. Michelle would usually show up late if she came at all and we spent the entire time together watching Ethan Roberts practice guitar with his band in the garage. Although Ethan was barely over 80 lbs, he was in a band and therefore squeezed me out in terms of winning Michelle’s attention.

Sara Pemberton on the other hand was a little more accessible for me because I sat next to her in biology class. We sat behind huge lab tables designed for science experiments. The nice part about these tables was that they covered the teacher’s view of each student from the chest down. I spent the entire period vandalizing Sara’s biology book under the table. Her revenge was writing a bunch of perverse sayings on my hands. One day she wrote her phone number on my hand. After that period I wrapped my hand in heavy plastic and vowed not to sweat or wash my hands before I got back home, so as I could carve her number into my bedroom wall.

By the time I got home, the only digits visible were 633, the prefix of everyone in my high school. I never got the nerve to ask her for her number again.

An aerial view of Mexico City is like peering into the insides of a hallowed-out pumpkin. The numerous highways and neighborhoods tangle together like a pumpkin’s matted intestines. There is no wind in Mexico City. The sweat, humidity and smog stick to your clothes, your windshield and your pets.

The Aztecs knew Mexico City as Tenochtitlan, the city that sat atop LakeTexcoco. The lake is long gone, and the city is slowly sinking into the void. A tour to the Zocalo (historical center of town), will reveal a bewildering finding. The window lines of the buildings start to sink towards the middle, like an accordion full of water.

Mexico City has so many people, it has run out of phone numbers to give to the residents of the city. Unlike the United States, which uses various area codes for one metropolitan area, Mexico City uses the same prefix for the entire city (55). TelMex (Mexican AT&T) had to expand to an eight-digit telephone numbering system to satisfy the demand. Mexico City’s population is larger than Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego County, combined.

Adding another strain on the city’s bursting seams, Mexico City’s municipal government cannot expand the subway system. Each time construction begins to break ground, the tractors expose sunken pyramids that nobody knew existed. Even construction that only involves removing a few feet of soil is tedious. Construction workers all over complain about how many days are lost clearing all the Aztec artifacts that saturate the soil strata well beyond the borders of the city. Most artefacts retrieved from construction sites are mixed in with the construction waste and deposited into the city’s dumps.

Even the Headdress of Moctezuma, the crown of the Aztec ruler of Tenochtitlan, has a story behind it. The headdress dates from 1502 and contains more than 500 quetzal feathers, a native bird species from the Southern part of Mexico and Central America. The headdress can be visited at the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City. The only problem is that the Headdress is a fake. Hernan Cortes stole the original from Mexico over five centuries ago. After being stolen from Mexico, nobody quite knows what happened after that. All that is known is that the headdress was purchased by Austria in 1880 and has stayed in their country ever since. One theory of how the headdress ended up there was that while the headdress was being sent to Spain by boat, the boat was attacked by French pirates and brought to France where it stayed for over three centuries. It was later auctioned off to Vienna.

Now that the headdress is known to be on display in Austria, the Mexican government is demanding its return. Austrian President Heinz Fischer has warned that the return of the headdress would only lead to a flood of similar claims from countries all over the Americas to recover valuable Pre-Hispanic artefacts illegally taken from their land. The logic of such a statement isn’t lost on Mexico, only temporarily misplaced.

This is what all my Korean male friends would tell me constantly. It was easier said than done.

Of the 300 Native English teachers, 180 of them came in couples. Of the 120 left, probably 40 of them had girlfriends or boyfriends back home. That left 80 or so single teachers. 40 of those were males. Of those 40, four successfully got Korean girlfriends while living in Mokpo.

The first native teacher with a Korean girlfriend’s name was Mick. He met his Korean girlfriend at a dance club in Gwangju, which is about 40 minutes outside Mokpo.

“How does your girlfriend’s father like you?” I asked Mick.

“Well, he doesn’t know I exist. My girlfriend said that if her father found out that she was going out with a foreigner, she would be out of the family.”

That didn’t stop them from going out, but for a Korean woman to marry a foreigner it can usually have immediate repercussions in her family.

The second native teacher I met with a Korean girlfriend was my roommate Axl. He actually came to Korea with a girlfriend in Ohio but halfway through his stay he decided that he wasn’t going back to live with her and he wanted to stay in Korea. He met a Korean girl named Gloria during a private English lesson. She was taking English lessons in Mokpo because she was planning to apply for a teaching job at a university in a city called Jeonju, which is an hour north of Mokpo. Gloria successfully got the job in Jeonju. They started dating shortly after she moved to Jeonju. Almost every weekend, Axl would take the bus to visit Gloria in Jeonju. They were getting along so well that Axl decided to apply for a job in Jeonju so they could live in the same town. It took him four months of searching but he finally got a job teaching in Jeonju.

The night before Axl was set to leave Mokpo, he got a call from Gloria saying she was breaking up with him. It was too late for him to stay in Mokpo, his position had already been taken by a new teacher and his room was also taken.

Although he was sad about what happened with Gloria, he still wanted to have a going away dinner. We had three-person dinner with a Korean girl named Pam.

“I really want a boyfriend, I am so lonely,” remarked Pam while we were eating dinner together.

“I thought you had a boyfriend.” Axl commented.

“No, I haven’t had a boyfriend in two years. I want an American boyfriend I can just have sex with, nothing serious. I want you to be my boyfriend” Pam said to Axl.

I looked at Axl’s reaction, he just stared into the table as if his heart was in his throat. Here he was leaving for Jeonju pursuing a girl who didn’t want to be with him. While all along a from a girl in Mokpo wanted to have sex with him. I asked Axl why Gloria had broken up with him. He said something about her being too busy. What I take that to mean was that it was great to have a friend come visit but once he starts living in the same city, the Korean girl gets nervous about maybe this guy will try to marry me and then I can get stuck in a sticky spot.

Axl moved to Jeonju the following day. He is probably, to this day, traveling to Mokpo every weekend to visit Pam.

The third native teacher with a Korean girlfriend was an American friend of Jonathan’s. The way the American met his Korean girlfriend was during a dance party. During the party Jonathan and his friend danced with two Korean girls. The two girls were really animated and fun to be with. Because neither of the girls spoke English fluently, Jonathan had to translate everything that went on that night to his foreigner friend. While dancing, Jonathan and his friend introduced themselves to the girls.

They replied back in Korean. Jonathan translated, “Their names are Tammy and Jee Hey,” Jonathan relayed to his foreign friend. He then asked them about their jobs. “Jee Hey graduated from a top university in Seoul and she is the owner of an English academy. She also lived three years in China and speaks fluent Mandarin,” Jonathan explained to the foreigner.

He then asked Jee Hey to demonstrate her Chinese to the American. She spoke a couple of lines of Chinese and everyone was satisfied. After the party, he and Jonathan invited the two Korean girls to have a drink with them.

So, the group all got into Jonathan’s car and went to drink soju. While drinking soju together the girls dared Jonathan and his American friend to take each girl in their arms and squat them to see who was the strongest. The American guy was a little nervous about the dare but Jonathan accepted freely.

The night went so well they ended up going to the Karaoke with the girls after drinks. In the Karaoke they drank plum wine and started to play a “numbers” game. The rules of the game were simple. Jonathan would write different numbers on tiny scraps of paper and put them in a hat.

On another piece of paper he would write a list of 1-10 with the instructions of what the person had to do if they drew a certain number. (ex: #1 – Go to the front of the karaoke and do a sexy dance, #4 – You must drink a shot of soju, #8 – You must sing a song while another person rides piggy back on you). It was a genius game.

As luck would have it, Jonathan’s foreign friend pulled the #8 and asked Jee Hey to ride on his back while he sang, “Hurts So Good” by John Cougar. Before Jee Hey climbed onto his back she took off her shoes and then latched her legs around his waist. By the time the foreigner got to the chorus of “Hurts So Good” Jee Hey had started kissing the American on the neck. He was nervous, out of breath and wasn’t known for his vocal skills but he continued to sing the entire song. At the end of the song they hugged each other and he thanked her for participating.

By the time it reached 4 a.m. the girls were tired and wanted to go home and take a rest. Before they left, the foreign guy asked Jee Hey for her number through Jonathan. A 12 minute conversation in Korean followed between Jee Hey and Jonathan. “What are you talking about?” asked the foreigner. “She says that she really likes you but she’s not sure if you want to go out with her.” said Jonathan. “Why not?” asked the foreigner. “She was divorced from her first husband and wonders if you still want to go out with her.” replied Jonathan. “What’s the big deal?” wondered the foreigner. Jee Hey interrupted and explained in Korean a little more about the situation. “She wants to know if you date girls who are divorced.” Jonathan translated. “Yes, why not?” the foreigner responded. “Well, in Korea, sometimes Korean men don’t like dating women who have divorced.” reported Jonathan. The whole situation was finally cleared up and Jee Hey agreed to give the foreigner her phone number and they went on another date a few months down the road. After that they broke up due to language problems and the fact that Jee Hey was working six days a week, going to church on Sundays and also trying to run her academy.

The fourth native teacher with a Korean girlfriend was a friend of Ole’s. The inter-racial couple was the most visible couple in Mokpo. They went out often and were very popular because they both had such an extended network of friends. One night the Korean girl invited some male Korean friends of hers to come out on a date with her and her native English teacher boyfriend. The night started out pleasant enough, everyone was getting along fine until one of her Korean male friends had a little too much to drink and started causing a commotion. Finally he stood up at their table and berated her in Korean for having a foreign boyfriend and called her trash in front of their Korean friends, a very uncomfortable situation for everyone. They continued dating but had to reduce their circle of friends to avoid future outbreaks.

Added to the social pressures of a Korean person dating a foreign person are the language problems (3% of Korean girls in Mokpo speak fluent English), cultural issues (Korean girls usually aren’t allowed to be alone in a single man’s apartment) and the religious issue (65% of Koreans are Christian and this means their daughters can’t have sex before marriage). When I say a Korean person is a Christian, this is not the same as a North American Christian. Korean Christians go to church up to six days week and spend anywhere from 20-60 hours a week in church. For them it is not so much a religion but a lifestyle choice.

Dating in Korea is similar to every other country; complicated.

__________________________________________________

Everything You Wanted To Know About Teaching English In Korea But Were Afraid To Ask

There has been an exploding demand for native English speakers to teach English in South Korea. English programs and English academies have been spreading like wildfire all over Korea. And, due to an unpredictable economy, many university graduates, travelers, and people from all walks of life are packing their bags and taking advantage of the English boom in Korea.

Korean institutions are paying good money ($2,000-$2,500 a month) and offering excellent benefits (free housing, 30 hour work weeks) to Westerners who are willing to explore the unfamiliar, pack up their bags, and teach in thriving South Korea.

This is the complete guidebook on how to relocate to South Korea and become an English teacher. This book illustrates the many advantages (low taxes, high standard of living, friendly people, safe streets) and challenges (dating, language barriers, disciplining students, getting along with co-workers) that the first time teacher can expect to confront in Korea.

Funny, fact filled and always informative, “First Contact in Korea: A Native English Teacher’s Journey Into The Backwoods of South Korea” provides the necessary knowledge you need to make the most out of the experience. Jam packed with practical information, “First Contact in Korea: A Native English Teacher’s Journey Into The Backwoods of South Korea” addresses all of the topics and taboos a prospective English teacher needs to know, from finding the right job and negotiating a contract settlement to avoid eating dog while ordering food off of a menu.While other books focus solely on classroom experience,“First Contact in Korea: A Native English Teacher’s Journey Into The Backwoods of South Korea” explores life outside of the classroom, providing you with an in-depth and often hilarious guide to Korean culture, food, friendship, drinking, dating, religion, health and history are just some of the subjects discussed in detail.Last but not least,

“First Contact in Korea: A Native English Teacher’s Journey Into The Backwoods of South Korea” looks at the embarrassing realities of life abroad, offering pause for thought on such issues as learning how to pronounce Korean students’ names, a 15-minute golf lesson I got in Korean that increased my driving distance 20%, my interactions with my Korean co-worker “Kid” who confesses to me that he was accused by his ex-wife of burning down her house and the cheapest and best eye surgery I’ve gotten in any country. “First Contact in Korea: A Native English Teacher’s Journey Into The Backwoods of South Korea” will awaken readers to the transitional opportunities available in a place that shares few Western customs but many of the comforts of home.

Written by Brian Ward, a semi-qualified middle school teacher whose walked the fine line between sanity and a nervous breakdown in the classroom, “First Contact in Korea: A Native English Teacher’s Journey Into The Backwoods of South Korea” is an irreverent and insightful survival guide for anyone brave enough to try their hand at teaching English in South Korea or who just wants to have a laugh at author Brian Ward’s backwards approach to living in Korean culture.

This guidebook also compares teaching in the USA to teaching in Korea.

_______________________________________________________

Country

Salary(Year)

Yearly Taxes

Yearly Housing Expenses

Total Remaining

Korea

$26,000 + 50% of medical bills paid

$780

$0

$25,220

USA

$35,000

$8,000

$8,400

$18,600

_______________________________________________________

“First Contact in Korea: A Native English Teacher’s Journey Into The Backwoods of South Korea” by Brian Ward, can be found on Amazon.com

Here is a chapter by chapter synopsis of the book:

Chapter 1 Dreams vs. Getting a Paycheck

This chapter profiles author’s friend Nick Lee, the hedonistic boozer surrounded by books, half-finished paintings and an old LP player — speaks in English rather than Greek or Latin. Prodigious nose, has been retooled as a heroic pretty boy. As Nick Lee’s life finally falls apart due to alcohol and lack of physical contact with women, the author decides to get on a plane to Korea. Upon his arrival to South Korea, he is taken back when he learns the true meaning of “Hair Shops” in Korea.

Chapter 2 Academy Owners

This chapter discusses the 4 major types of academy owners as well as which category I was working for. This chapter also discusses my “first contact” with my boss and Korean co-workers. This chapter reveals what a failure I am at teaching and includes the letters I received from Seoul which explained where I should improve. Introduced in this chapter is Carlo, an English teacher famous for drinking with Russians, getting bit by his students and his travels throughout Morocco.

In this chapter I get fired from my first job and start a new job. I am also forced to learn a little bit about Korean culture in order to be able to converse better with my students. Also introduced in this chapter is Jackie and the story of his dog “Blackie.” Also discussed is the Korean co-worker culture and what that entails.

Chapter 3 First Non-Monopoly Month in Class

I learn which class tattled on me for playing Monopoly every day in class. I also try different techniques for disciplining my students. I also discuss the advantages of talking with the students versus making them do exercises and what makes talking to the students so difficult. Also discussed is more of Carlo’s antics outside of the classroom. I finally get the bright idea of discussing the rules in class. I meet Carlo again out of class and we discuss the problems of his life; mainly how to deal with a belligerent student who happens to be the boss’ daughter in class.

Chapter 4 Bars and Churches

There are two types of English teachers in Mokpo, those who hang out in the bars and the other who hang out in church. Frankly I was getting tired of hanging out with the English teachers in bars. I decide to go to church instead. On my first day of church I discover that there is free orange juice and cookies served after each session. I meet Ms. Jung who explains to me why the street in Korea are so clean and how it affects retired Korean people. I also get my first private English student. Jackie’s house becomes haunted by a ghost and he reveals how to chase ghosts away. I go to my first baseball game.

Chapter 5 Modem vs. Router

I have my first run in with Korean modems and their downfalls. Jackie comes to my rescue and gives me some much-needed internet advice.

Chapter 6 Golfing in Korea

I meet my first Korean golf instructor who gives me best golf lesson ever using no English. Using my new-found golf skills I decide to golf a few rounds of golf with my new co-teacher George and his brother.

Chapter 7 English Meetings at Angel-In-Us Café

In addition to going to church, I join another group in Korea. This one is and English group that is run by my Korean friend Jackie. This group becomes a great way to meet new friends and discuss current events in Korea. Next, my former roommate, Carlo, gets taken to the police station and I talk to him before he gets deported from Korea. I also meet my replacement who’s teaching at my previous academy.

Chapter 8 4th of July in Korea

Author goes to a 4th of July party with his new-found church friends. He meets another English teacher named Tareck. Tareck is famous for kicking chairs across the classroom to get his students’ attention as well as living in the same apartment as his nudist boss.

Chapter 9 Kidman

Brian meets his first English-speaking co-teacher who goes by the name “Kid.” During their first time out for a hike together Kid confesses to Brian that he was accused by his ex-wife of burning down her house and that he likes dating Japanese women.

Chapter 10 Modem vs. Router

I have my first run in with Korean modems and their downfalls. Jackie comes to my rescue and gives me some much-needed internet advice.

Chapter 11 Golfing in Korea

I meet my first Korean golf instructor who gives me best golf lesson ever using no English. Using my new-found golf skills I decide to golf a few rounds of golf with my new co-teacher George and his brother.

Chapter 12 English Meetings at Angel-In-Us Café

In addition to going to church, I join another group in Korea. This one is and English group and is run by Jackie. I find another way to meet new friends and discuss current events in Korea. Carlo gets taken to the police station and I talk to him before he gets deported from Korea. I also meet my replacement who’s teaching at my previous academy.

Chapter 13 Lesson Plans

Brian reveals the most effective way to plan for his classes; by downloading lessons plans off the internet. Included in these lesson plans is sample menu that is used to help the students role-play the purchasing of a hamburger in class.

Chapter 14 Dating in Korea

Brian shares four case studies of native teachers (males) who are dating Korean women. Included in these case studies are the reactions of the host-woman’s friends, families and social network.

Chapter 15 Surgery on a Budget

Brian get learns the difference between hospitals in Seoul (where the rich Koreans go) and all other hospitals in Korea. Brian finds the best value in Korea which is eye surgery which is priced at $2,500 in Korea vs. $28,000 in the United States. While in the hospital Brian meets an American man named Roman who’s been living in Korea since the 1970′s and publishing a book about a Post-Apocalyptic New England town. When Brian asks Roman who his book publishing agent is Roman replies, “The guy’s an idiot, he’s 62 and has just had his 6th child with his 3rd wife. What kind of a life is that kid going to have?”

“First Contact in Korea: A Native English Teacher’s Journey Into The Backwoods of South Korea” by Brian Ward, can be found on Amazon.com

On my way to work one day I ran into a middle-aged Korean gentleman. He was staring at me as we walked parallel on the sidewalk, this was nothing knew for me so I didn’t think anything of it. As I got into the elevator at my academy, he was still with me. Fourth floor, we both got out and I began walking into the academy.

“I have a question,” he proclaimed. “Can you help me?” he then walked into the boss’ office and wrote two sentences on the board.

Your car will be running next week.

Your book will be published next week.

“Why can’t we say, “Your book will be publishing next week?’”

He went on and on and sighted numerous examples. All the while the rest of the Korean teachers were wondering what we were doing in the boss’ office debating in English. Finally the receptionist closed the door on us. That was our clue to wrap up our debate class. I still had no idea who this English-speaking Korean was. As we were walking out of the boss’ office, I sat down at my desk and the Korean guy sat next to me.

“My name is Kid, I hope to be working here soon. I have been teaching English in Korea for over 10 years. My last job was as a tour guide. I used to take Korean exchange students to Canada and teach them English. I got deported from Canada at the airport for talking too much. Have you been to Cancun?”

“Yes.”

“Is it nice? I was supposed to go last year but I had been drinking for two months and I was too weak to pick up my suitcase. My mother bought the ticket.” he said.

So far this was the longest conversation I’d ever had with a Korean at work.

“I have been to Florida, I like the beaches there but it’s nothing special. The first time I went to a strip club, a naked woman approached me and I fell out of my chair. I had never seen a naked woman walking around in a bar before,” Kid admitted.

By default this guy was going to be my best friend at work. He’s the only one I could actually have a conversation with. He interviewed a few minutes later, got the job and then invited me to a buffet that weekend.

I was curious to hear what other stories he had to tell. When I met him in front of the buffet restaurant, I was surprised to see we were dressed exactly alike. We were both wearing shorts, sandals, hats and sun glasses. Kid said that he hadn’t eaten at this buffet but for $6, we might as well try it.

“While I was in Florida, I was in a mental institution. I was on the second floor. The building had 7 floors. The higher the floor the more crazy a person is. I was just there for 24 hours. I was drinking too much,” Kid was on a roll. He then listed off the names of people who owed him money.

“What’s the chance you’ll get the money back?” I wondered.

“The guy who owes me the most money is my drinking buddy Roger, he stayed at my house in Jeju island for two months, and he never paid any rent. I figure he owes me $600. Jeju is more expensive than Mokpo. I’ve been in the news twice on Yahoo! Korea. The first time was for burning down my apartment. My ex-wife claims I was trying to commit suicide. Why would I do such a thing? I was making rent money from four university students who were living with me in the apartment.” Kid claimed. “The second time I was in the news in Yahoo! Korea was the time I had a few too many beers and decided to go for a swim across Mokpo bay in the Yellow Sea.”

“How far is that?” I asked.

“I don’t know, all I did was swim out past a navy ship and come back. When the Navy saw me they called the police. By the time the police got there I had already gotten back into my car and was halfway home.”

After lunch we decided to take a drive. I was hoping we weren’t going swimming. During the drive he started to talk about a Japanese woman who he met on the internet. After chatting with her for a few months, he invited her to come to Korea. She came a few months later.

Apparently they decided to go to a nearby island together on what was “not a date” according to Kid. On the third day the Japanese woman asked Kid, “Do you like this island?”

“No, it’s nothing special,” he replied.

“I don’t feel comfortable with you, I want to go back to Japan,” she replied as she started to pack her clothes into her suitcase.

“Then she rented a car and went back to the airport, I offered to pay but she insisted,” reported Kid.

The guy seemed to be having the worst 20 years in human history.

“Do you know what ‘pulling a runner’ is?” Kid asked me.

I didn’t.

“At my last academy we had a teacher from Canada who really hated teaching small children. So, one day he grabbed a kid by his ankles and threw him out of the classroom,” Kid swore to the accuracy of this story.

“What happened to the teacher?” I asked, completely floored by what he said.

“The teacher left Korea the next day, before the academy could fire him. He packed up his things and left. Let’s go have some beers,” Kid suggested.

This guy was a pretty free spirit without drinking any alcohol, I wondered what would happen when I went drinking with the guy. We drove back to the downtown area and met a friend of mine Carmen. As we started talking, Kid fell in love with her.

“Would you like to have some beers with us?” Kid asked Carmen.

“Yes,” replied Carmen.

We ended up getting some tall cans and going to the batting cages. While at the batting cages we ran into the second weirdest person in Mokpo, Kevin. Kevin was a Korean-Hawaiian who had been teaching in Mokpo for five years. The only other time I had seen Kevin was at Moe’s Bar where he got angry with the bar tender for not opening up a tab for him, so he threw a handful of napkins at the bar tender and stormed out. Since then he’d been blacklisted by Moe’s bar and all the other foreigners in Mokpo. He basically had no friends in Korea.

Pretty soon we started talking with Kevin and he joined the party. Kevin was in rare form that night. We started drinking more beers in front of a restaurant and Kid was really interested in getting to know Kevin.

“Kevin, I hear you’re from Hawaii, is it nice there?” Kid asked.

“Yeah,” Kevin replied.

“Kevin, do you have a girlfriend?”

“No,” replied Kevin.

“Kevin, do you like drinking beers?”

“Yes,” He answered.

This went on for another half hour. Kid would ask Kevin questions in rapid succession. And Kevin, still suspicious of us, would answer each question with one word.

“Kid, I think I’m going to go home, I’m tired.” I said.

“We’ll leave after you have one more beer. Kevin, I know you like to party, where do you party around here?”

“Well, I don’t know any…” Kevin trailed off.

“You know what I like about you Kevin, you’re not a kiss-ass. I don’t like hanging around people who are always telling me how great I am. I like guys like you who don’t say much,” declared Kid.

“Hey Kid, I think I want to go home,” I pleaded.

“Just have another beer and we’ll leave soon. Now, Kevin, if I wanted to call you sometime, is there a phone where I could reach you?” asked Kid.

Kevin started to pull his cell phone out of his pants pocket. But just as he started to open it up. He reminded himself he couldn’t trust anyone.

“Actually this phone is just for work,” Kevin said as he closed he phone back up and put it in his pocket.

“Kevin, are you sure you don’t know any place to party around here?” asked Kid for the second time.

“There’s one place we could go, if you want to dance,” Kevin offered.

I was too tired to go with them. So, as they were leaving to go dancing. I walked the other direction, going behind the restaurant. Just as I was crossing the street, my cell phone started to ring. It was Kid and he tried to convince me to come back. I ran home, afraid that I would get stuck drinking with those guys all night.

____________________________________________________________

Everything You Wanted To Know About Teaching English In Korea But Were Afraid To Ask

There has been an exploding demand for native English speakers to teach English in South Korea. English programs and English academies have been spreading like wildfire all over Korea. And, due to an unpredictable economy, many university graduates, travelers, and people from all walks of life are packing their bags and taking advantage of the English boom in Korea.

Korean institutions are paying good money ($2,000-$2,500USD a month) and offering excellent benefits (free housing, 30 hour work weeks) to Westerners who are willing to explore the unfamiliar, pack up their bags, and teach in thriving South Korea.

This is the complete guidebook on how to relocate to South Korea and become an English teacher. This book illustrates the many advantages (low taxes, high standard of living, friendly people, safe streets) and challenges (dating, language barriers, disciplining students, getting along with co-workers) that the first time teacher can expect to confront in Korea.

Funny, fact filled and always informative, “First Contact in Korea: A Native English Teacher’s Guide to South Korea” provides the necessary knowledge you need to make the most out of the experience. Jam packed with practical information, “First Contact in Korea: A Native English Teacher’s Guide to South Korea” addresses all of the topics and taboos a prospective English teacher needs to know, from finding the right job and negotiating a contract settlement to avoid eating dog while ordering food off of a menu.While other books focus solely on classroom experience, “First Contact in Korea: A Native English Teacher’s Guide to South Korea” explores life outside of the classroom, providing you with an in-depth and often hilarious guide to Korean culture, food, friendship, drinking, dating, religion, health and history are just some of the subjects discussed in detail.Last but not least, “First Contact in Korea: A Native English Teacher’s Guide to South Korea” looks at the embarrassing realities of life abroad, offering pause for thought on such issues as learning how to pronounce Korean students’ names, a 15-minute golf lesson I got in Korean that increased my driving distance 20%, my interactions with my Korean co-worker “Kid” who confesses to me that he was accused by his ex-wife of burning down her house and the cheapest and best eye surgery I’ve gotten in any country. “First Contact in Korea: A Native English Teacher’s Guide to South Korea” will awaken readers to the transitional opportunities available in a place that shares few Western customs but many of the comforts of home.

Written by Brian Ward, a semi-qualified middle school teacher whose walked the fine line between sanity and a nervous breakdown in the classroom, “First Contact in Korea: A Native English Teacher’s Guide to South Korea” is an irreverent and insightful survival guide for anyone brave enough to try their hand at teaching English in South Korea or who just wants to have a laugh at author Brian Ward’s backwards approach to living in Korean culture.

This guidebook also compares teaching in the USA to teaching in Korea.

Country

Salary(Year)

Yearly Taxes

Yearly Housing Expenses

Total Remaining

Korea

$26,000 + 50% of medical bills paid

$780

$0

$25,220

USA

$35,000

$8,000

$8,400

$18,600

“First Contact in Korea: A Native English Teacher’s Guide to South Korea” by Brian Ward, can be found on Amazon.com

Here is a chapter by chapter synopsis of the book:

Chapter 1
Dreams vs. Getting a Paycheck

This chapter profiles author’s friend Nick Lee, the hedonistic boozer surrounded by books, half-finished paintings and an old LP player — speaks in English rather than Greek or Latin. Prodigious nose, has been retooled as a heroic pretty boy. As Nick Lee’s life finally falls apart due to alcohol and lack of physical contact with women, the author decides to get on a plane to Korea. Upon his arrival to South Korea, he is taken back when he learns the true meaning of “Hair Shops” in Korea.

Chapter 2
Academy Owners

This chapter discusses the 4 major types of academy owners as well as which category I was working for. This chapter also discusses my “first contact” with my boss and Korean co-workers. This chapter reveals what a failure I am at teaching and includes the letters I received from Seoul which explained where I should improve. Introduced in this chapter is Carlo, an English teacher famous for drinking with Russians, getting bit by his students and his travels throughout Morocco.

In this chapter I get fired from my first job and start a new job. I am also forced to learn a little bit about Korean culture in order to be able to converse better with my students. Also introduced in this chapter is Jackie and the story of his dog “Blackie.” Also discussed is the Korean co-worker culture and what that entails.

Chapter 3
First Non-Monopoly Month in Class

I learn which class tattled on me for playing Monopoly every day in class. I also try different techniques for disciplining my students. I also discuss the advantages of talking with the students versus making them do exercises and what makes talking to the students so difficult. Also discussed is more of Carlo’s antics outside of the classroom. I finally get the bright idea of discussing the rules in class. I meet Carlo again out of class and we discuss the problems of his life; mainly how to deal with a belligerent student who happens to be the boss’ daughter in class.

Chapter 4
Bars and Churches

There are two types of English teachers in Mokpo, those who hang out in the bars and the other who hang out in church. Frankly I was getting tired of hanging out with the English teachers in bars. I decide to go to church instead. On my first day of church I discover that there is free orange juice and cookies served after each session. I meet Ms. Jung who explains to me why the street in Korea are so clean and how it affects retired Korean people. I also get my first private English student. Jackie’s house becomes haunted by a ghost and he reveals how to chase ghosts away. I go to my first baseball game.

Chapter 5
Modem vs. Router

I have my first run in with Korean modems and their downfalls. Jackie comes to my rescue and gives me some much-needed internet advice.

Chapter 6
Golfing in Korea

I meet my first Korean golf instructor who gives me best golf lesson ever using no English. Using my new-found golf skills I decide to golf a few rounds of golf with my new co-teacher George and his brother.

Chapter 7
English Meetings at Angel-In-Us Café

In addition to going to church, I join another group in Korea. This one is and English group that is run by my Korean friend Jackie. This group becomes a great way to meet new friends and discuss current events in Korea. Next, my former roommate, Carlo, gets taken to the police station and I talk to him before he gets deported from Korea. I also meet my replacement who’s teaching at my previous academy.

Chapter 8
4th of July in Korea

Author goes to a 4th of July party with his new-found church friends. He meets another English teacher named Tareck. Tareck is famous for kicking chairs across the classroom to get his students’ attention as well as living in the same apartment as his nudist boss.

Chapter 9
Kidman

Brian meets his first English-speaking co-teacher who goes by the name “Kid.” During their first time out for a hike together Kid confesses to Brian that he was accused by his ex-wife of burning down her house and that he likes dating Japanese women.

Chapter 10
Modem vs. Router

I have my first run in with Korean modems and their downfalls. Jackie comes to my rescue and gives me some much-needed internet advice.

Chapter 11
Golfing in Korea

I meet my first Korean golf instructor who gives me best golf lesson ever using no English. Using my new-found golf skills I decide to golf a few rounds of golf with my new co-teacher George and his brother.

Chapter 12
English Meetings at Angel-In-Us Café

In addition to going to church, I join another group in Korea. This one is and English group and is run by Jackie. I find another way to meet new friends and discuss current events in Korea. Carlo gets taken to the police station and I talk to him before he gets deported from Korea. I also meet my replacement who’s teaching at my previous academy.

Chapter 13
Lesson Plans

Brian reveals the most effective way to plan for his classes; by downloading lessons plans off the internet. Included in these lesson plans is sample menu that is used to help the students role-play the purchasing of a hamburger in class.

Chapter 14
Dating in Korea

Brian shares four case studies of native teachers (males) who are dating Korean women. Included in these case studies are the reactions of the host-woman’s friends, families and social network.

Chapter 15
Surgery on a Budget

Brian get learns the difference between hospitals in Seoul (where the rich Koreans go) and all other hospitals in Korea. Brian finds the best value in Korea which is eye surgery which is priced at $2,500 in Korea vs. $28,000 in the United States. While in the hospital Brian meets an American man named Roman who’s been living in Korea since the 1970′s and publishing a book about a Post-Apocalyptic New England town. When Brian asks Roman who his book publishing agent is Roman replies, “The guy’s an idiot, he’s 62 and has just had his 6th child with his 3rd wife. What kind of a life is that kid going to have?”

“First Contact in Korea: A Native English Teacher’s Guide to South Korea” by Brian Ward, can be found on Amazon.com

My last month in Korea teaching English was the most brutal for me. My co-workers were running out of patience with me after I had missed six days of work in the last five weeks of my contract due to being in the hospital. I was trying to make it to the finish line without getting into any verbal altercations. My American co-teacher George was also nervous because so far the academy still hadn’t found another person to replace me as a teacher. So, seven days before my contract was to end I asked my co-teacher Musong when the academy would buy me a plane ticket home.

“No ticket.” he said flatly, not even bothering to look up from his text messaging. From that moment on I knew getting my affairs finished in Mokpo was going to be like going 10 rounds with Tyson. I decided to not bring up my request again until the following Monday. Over the weekend I made some calls around Korea, trying to get a free ticket to the US. I tried to be an Orphan Escort or an Air Courier.

“Now most adoptive parents pick up their adopted children up in Korea,” answered the secretary at Orphan Escorts in Seoul. I guess back in the old days the adoptive parents just signed some paperwork in the US and waited for 6-8 weeks for a Korean orphan to come in on a plane. The Air Courier gig was impossible to get any information on. I guessed that probably most people who needed something delivered just used DHL.

That weekend wasn’t all bad, I was looking forward to my going away party with all my friends from the Angel-In-Us Café English meetings. One hour into the party Jonathan, Jackie and I got thrown out of my going away party, along with the other males at the party. I guess at some point Jonathan got a little too loud. He also may have had a couple few too many beers. The girls who arranged the party got angry at Jonathan for ordering them around and because of this, all the males were thrown out of the party. We didn’t even have a chance to cut the cake. Instead, we all went out to a nearby bar and texted the girls to come down but they never did. I would rather be outside of the party with Jackie and Jonathan than inside without them so I didn’t mind too much.

Starting Monday, I was even more desperate to close out my contract life in Korea and get my last month’s pay check and a plane ticket out of the country. On Monday, Musong had a change of heart and said that he would talk to the boss the next day about my ticket. When the next day arrived I asked Musong what the boss said and he replied that “She is busy this week,” as he was escorting a student downstairs. I remembered the email I received from another former co-teacher Duff (who was interested in renewing a contract with the school). He said he received an email saying that the academy wanted him back but was often too busy to make any final plans. Steam started to pour out of my ears.

“Where are you going?” I asked Musong. I started walking towards his class room and gave him some hand signals to follow me.

“Why is it that she’s too busy this week but will be able to do my ticket next week? What’s the difference between this week and next week? This waiting for my ticket is making me nervous,” I told Musong once we were back in his classroom, trying to remain calm.

“Actually Miss Kang is angry at you,” replied Musong.

This statement kicked off a 10 minute tirade about how me missing six days of work due to being in the hospital was causing the rest of the teachers extra hours of work and pushing the financial status of the company into bankruptcy.

“Have any teachers in Korea ever had to go to the hospital and miss work?” I asked.

“You don’t say sorry, you don’t care about the other employees,” replied Musong.

“What do you care more about, your health or your job?” I replied.

“I care more about my health then my job but I don’t care more about your health than my job,” replied Musong. I flashed back 10 years and thought about a conversation I had with my Japanese roommate. He told me that he was surprised how “direct” Americans were in casual conversation. This statement from Musong was probably the most honest and direct answer I’ve ever gotten from any Western or Non-Western person. I tried to steer the conversation back onto the rails towards sanity. But, it was too late, we were already on the train to crazy town.

“What do you think about me?” Musong asked.

“I think you need to work on your communication,” I responded.

“I am very angry at you,” replied Musong.

“Yeah I know, you….”

“Don’t interrupt, I am communicating.”

I waited for him to tell me to get out of his class room but that moment never came. Instead he just gave me more feedback about the way I treated my co-workers and the boss. The discussion didn’t end in mutual understanding or an agreement. Instead, it was a chance for each of us to vent our frustrations at the other person. In life, people usually save their harshest criticisms of others until the time right before money is to be exchanged.

I left his room and walked back to my officetel. On my walk back home I wondered why they hadn’t planned for my departure better and if they were so concerned about teachers missing classes, why hadn’t they found a new teacher to replace me with a week to go on my contract? If everyone at work was so severely impacted by my absence, wouldn’t that motivate them to make sure my replacement teacher would start work on the date of my departure? George had brought in two of his friends to interview for teaching positions at the academy, but neither got the job. The academy was apparently banking on the second coming of Christ in the form of a native English teacher.

I texted Musong the next day, asking what our boss, Miss Kang, said to him about my contract settlement and ticket.

“None to me,” read his message.

I decided that at this moment I had two options; get a lawyer or find someone scary enough to get them to give me my ticket. I chose the first option. I immediately texted all of my Korean friends in Mokpo, asking them for the number of an English-speaking Korean lawyer. Three minutes later I got a call from my friend Pastor Choi from Sarang Community Church.

“Where are you?” He asked. “Can you come to my church?”

“I’m in front of E-Mart, I will get in a taxi now and come to your church,” I responded

“Ok, I’m in my office on the 6th floor.”

I walked into Pastor Choi’s office 20 minutes later. I retold the tale of my failed attempts to get my plane ticket from the academy. Pastor Choi asked to see my contract. As I opened my backpack to take out my contract the phone rang. It was Musong and he asked me to come to the school immediately. I asked if Miss Kang was there and he said yes. I told Pastor Choi that my work had just called.

“Can I guide you?” asked Pastor Choi. “I can take you to the academy from here in my car.” I had to think about this one. I finally accepted Pastor Choi’s offer, we jumped into his car and headed for the academy. I felt as if I were being taken to the firing range.

As we pulled up in front of the academy, I got very nervous. I knew I didn’t stand a chance in there unless I had a moderator. I asked Pastor Choi to come to the negotiations with me. He accepted without hesitation. Before getting out of the car Pastor Choi spoke, “Let’s try and speak humbly with your boss.” he said. I of course agreed.

As we were entering the academy building Choi quickly said, “Let’s pray first.” So we went into the alley behind the academy and bowed our heads, “Dear Heavenly Father, we can do anything without you.” I kept my snickering to myself, I knew Pastor Choi was doing his best, even if the grammar wasn’t exactly perfect. After our prayer we went upstairs and entered the academy. As we walked in we saw Musong was sitting in the corner, staring into his cell phone as usual.

As he rose to greet us, I introduced my friend Pastor Choi as “Mr. Choi.” After seeing I had brought Mr. Choi, Musong looked at the ground and did one of his oxygen-depleted laughs. He then called Miss Kang to tell her everything was in place. The three of us sat down together and Musong chatted amicably with Mr. Choi for the next 20 minutes. Each time the front door opened of the academy, the three of us raised our heads to see if it was Miss Kang coming into the office. Each time it wasn’t her.

“Ding.” sounded the elevator.

As soon as the elevator door opened a verbal outpouring spilled out of my 5’2” Korean boss. Choi and Musong immediately came to their feet as Miss Kang berated us. See didn’t stop yelling or even bother to ask who the visitor was. She was way too far into her rant to be bothered with small details. The only words I recognized were “Samsung Hospital” and “communication,” the later she said in English. My heart was pounding but I knew my role in this entire process was just to be a spectator. Choi attempted to get in a few words edgewise but was incapable of delivering his message. Her speech was interrupted by her phone, after quickly addressing her caller and hanging up, she motioned for us to come into her office. As we sat down Miss Kang asked Mr. Choi a few questions, I could tell by Choi’s response “…….Sarang Church” that Miss Kang had asked Mr. Choi what his job was. As soon as Mr. Choi revealed that he was a Pastor of a church with over 500 middle school student mothers and fathers in attendance, Miss Kang’s tone changed completely.

“Musong…….coffee.” she called.

Once the coffee was served Miss Kang and Pastor Choi had what sounded like a personal chat and Musong pulled out his notebook to discuss the terms of my settlement. He wrote four points in his notebook.

1) Phone bill

2) Medical insurance amenity

3) Plane ticket

4) Pay check

He let me know that Miss Kang would be subtracting six sick days from my final paycheck. Musong asked me if I knew what “Medical insurance amenity” meant. I guessed it had something to do with me paying money to somebody. He explained that it actually was a refund that I’d be getting. We then made plans to meet me at 12 noon the next day to address the four points and to close out my contract.

Things got off to a rough start from the beginning. For some reason Musong had thought we could buy a plane ticket at his bank. The bank teller informed us that we would have to call the airline to make the reservation.

Musong then made about three or four phone calls trying to make a plane ticket reservation, intermediately he’d ask me to show him my resident card while he was on the phone. He’d then read off the numbers into the phone. After several calls, Musong hung up the phone and stared at the ground in defeat.

“What’s the problem?” I asked.

“Lack of time,” was his only response.

We packed up our paperwork and went down stairs. I suggested we go to a travel agent to get a ticket price. After saying this we both walked in different directions, Musong then yelped back at me to follow him.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“To find a quiet place,” he responded.

Even though Musong was Korean and I was a foreigner, I could tell he had no clue as to the layout of the city or where to go. In my mind this revealed Musong’s obsessive dedication to working long hours in the academy. He was a stranger to the world outside of the academy.

As we were waiting to cross the street, Musong asked me why I hadn’t stayed at the academy after Mr. Choi had left.

“You didn’t tell me you wanted me to stay,” stating the obvious.

Musong then informed me that there were some “tasks” that I needed to do after the settlement that I had missed.

“If you wanted me to come back to the academy to do the tasks, why didn’t you just call?” I replied, suddenly feeling my face turning red.

“It’s not my job to call you to come into work. I’m not your secretary,” replied Musong.

I could tell this was not the best way to start what promised to be a long day of waiting in line together.

“Musong, I don’t want to argue with you, I’m tired of…..”

“You’re tired.” he cut himself off before finishing his point. We then went into a convenience store to have an ice coffee and regroup. While in the convenience store Musong made a call to my bank. This call didn’t end well either. We were both getting frustrated. It seemed that we couldn’t do anything about the ticket or my bank account, so we decided to work on the medical insurance amenity and paying my phone bill. The phone bill went smoothly, they even agreed to let me to keep my phone for an extra few days. The medical insurance amenity was a little more complicated. I had brought my previous money transfer statement (back when I thought I was leaving Korea ten months prior) showing my bank account number in the US, but there were so many different numbers on the wire transfer statement that I had forgotten which numbers corresponded with my bank account. And everything was written in Korean. Neither Musong nor the medical insurance amenity lady could distinguish which numbers coincided with my bank account numbers and which numbers were meaningless. Musong suggested that I call my bank in the US. I couldn’t call them because it was 1 am back in California. I couldn’t access my account online either, because I couldn’t remember my password for my online bank account. Musong didn’t take the news well. He couldn’t believe I hadn’t memorized my bank account number. I decided just to pick a series of numbers off the money transfer statement and put those in as my bank account number on the medical insurance amenity form.

“By the way, how much money are they going to give me?” I asked.

Musong translated the question to the teller.

“$1,007,” she responded.

I was blown away, suddenly the bank account number took on a little more important role. We then left the medical insurance amenity building, not knowing if I guessed my bank account number correctly or not. I could always call them back later if I needed to update the account number. We headed back to the academy and tried to book the plane ticket on line. Musong and I had our hands full once again. It was impossible to make a reservation on a US website with the boss’ Korean credit card. We tried all of her over 15 different credit cards and nothing worked. I had two more days until I needed to leave my officetel. I still hadn’t done a thing in terms of packing my stuff.

Several hours and credit cards later we booked an eTicket on Air China for $649. After we booked the ticket Miss Kang transferred my last month’s paycheck to my account via her cell phone. I was free. I shook everyone’s hand. As I was leaving Miss Kang gave me a US $100 bill and said “Pocket money.”

I thanked her again and left. As I was walking out the door I heard Musong say in English. “You should use two hands when taking money.”

__________________________________________________

Everything You Wanted To Know About Teaching English In Korea But Were Afraid To Ask

There has been an exploding demand for native English speakers to teach English in South Korea. English programs and English academies have been spreading like wildfire all over Korea. And, due to an unpredictable economy, many university graduates, travelers, and people from all walks of life are packing their bags and taking advantage of the English boom in Korea.

Korean institutions are paying good money ($2,000-$2,500 a month) and offering excellent benefits (free housing, 30 hour work weeks) to Westerners who are willing to explore the unfamiliar, pack up their bags, and teach in thriving South Korea.

This is the complete guidebook on how to relocate to South Korea and become an English teacher. This book illustrates the many advantages (low taxes, high standard of living, friendly people, safe streets) and challenges (dating, language barriers, disciplining students, getting along with co-workers) that the first time teacher can expect to confront in Korea.

Funny, fact filled and always informative, “First Contact in Korea: A Native English Teacher’s Journey Into The Backwoods of South Korea” provides the necessary knowledge you need to make the most out of the experience. Jam packed with practical information, “First Contact in Korea: A Native English Teacher’s Journey Into The Backwoods of South Korea” addresses all of the topics and taboos a prospective English teacher needs to know, from finding the right job and negotiating a contract settlement to avoid eating dog while ordering food off of a menu.While other books focus solely on classroom experience,“First Contact in Korea: A Native English Teacher’s Journey Into The Backwoods of South Korea” explores life outside of the classroom, providing you with an in-depth and often hilarious guide to Korean culture, food, friendship, drinking, dating, religion, health and history are just some of the subjects discussed in detail.Last but not least,

“First Contact in Korea: A Native English Teacher’s Journey Into The Backwoods of South Korea” looks at the embarrassing realities of life abroad, offering pause for thought on such issues as learning how to pronounce Korean students’ names, a 15-minute golf lesson I got in Korean that increased my driving distance 20%, my interactions with my Korean co-worker “Kid” who confesses to me that he was accused by his ex-wife of burning down her house and the cheapest and best eye surgery I’ve gotten in any country. “First Contact in Korea: A Native English Teacher’s Journey Into The Backwoods of South Korea” will awaken readers to the transitional opportunities available in a place that shares few Western customs but many of the comforts of home.

Written by Brian Ward, a semi-qualified middle school teacher whose walked the fine line between sanity and a nervous breakdown in the classroom, “First Contact in Korea: A Native English Teacher’s Journey Into The Backwoods of South Korea” is an irreverent and insightful survival guide for anyone brave enough to try their hand at teaching English in South Korea or who just wants to have a laugh at author Brian Ward’s backwards approach to living in Korean culture.

This guidebook also compares teaching in the USA to teaching in Korea.

_______________________________________________________

Country

Salary(Year)

Yearly Taxes

Yearly Housing Expenses

Total Remaining

Korea

$26,000 + 50% of medical bills paid

$780

$0

$25,220

USA

$35,000

$8,000

$8,400

$18,600

_______________________________________________________

“First Contact in Korea: A Native English Teacher’s Journey Into The Backwoods of South Korea” by Brian Ward, can be found on Amazon.com

Here is a chapter by chapter synopsis of the book:

Chapter 1 Dreams vs. Getting a Paycheck

This chapter profiles author’s friend Nick Lee, the hedonistic boozer surrounded by books, half-finished paintings and an old LP player — speaks in English rather than Greek or Latin. Prodigious nose, has been retooled as a heroic pretty boy. As Nick Lee’s life finally falls apart due to alcohol and lack of physical contact with women, the author decides to get on a plane to Korea. Upon his arrival to South Korea, he is taken back when he learns the true meaning of “Hair Shops” in Korea.

Chapter 2 Academy Owners

This chapter discusses the 4 major types of academy owners as well as which category I was working for. This chapter also discusses my “first contact” with my boss and Korean co-workers. This chapter reveals what a failure I am at teaching and includes the letters I received from Seoul which explained where I should improve. Introduced in this chapter is Carlo, an English teacher famous for drinking with Russians, getting bit by his students and his travels throughout Morocco.

In this chapter I get fired from my first job and start a new job. I am also forced to learn a little bit about Korean culture in order to be able to converse better with my students. Also introduced in this chapter is Jackie and the story of his dog “Blackie.” Also discussed is the Korean co-worker culture and what that entails.

Chapter 3 First Non-Monopoly Month in Class

I learn which class tattled on me for playing Monopoly every day in class. I also try different techniques for disciplining my students. I also discuss the advantages of talking with the students versus making them do exercises and what makes talking to the students so difficult. Also discussed is more of Carlo’s antics outside of the classroom. I finally get the bright idea of discussing the rules in class. I meet Carlo again out of class and we discuss the problems of his life; mainly how to deal with a belligerent student who happens to be the boss’ daughter in class.

Chapter 4 Bars and Churches

There are two types of English teachers in Mokpo, those who hang out in the bars and the other who hang out in church. Frankly I was getting tired of hanging out with the English teachers in bars. I decide to go to church instead. On my first day of church I discover that there is free orange juice and cookies served after each session. I meet Ms. Jung who explains to me why the street in Korea are so clean and how it affects retired Korean people. I also get my first private English student. Jackie’s house becomes haunted by a ghost and he reveals how to chase ghosts away. I go to my first baseball game.

Chapter 5 Modem vs. Router

I have my first run in with Korean modems and their downfalls. Jackie comes to my rescue and gives me some much-needed internet advice.

Chapter 6 Golfing in Korea

I meet my first Korean golf instructor who gives me best golf lesson ever using no English. Using my new-found golf skills I decide to golf a few rounds of golf with my new co-teacher George and his brother.

Chapter 7 English Meetings at Angel-In-Us Café

In addition to going to church, I join another group in Korea. This one is and English group that is run by my Korean friend Jackie. This group becomes a great way to meet new friends and discuss current events in Korea. Next, my former roommate, Carlo, gets taken to the police station and I talk to him before he gets deported from Korea. I also meet my replacement who’s teaching at my previous academy.

Chapter 8 4th of July in Korea

Author goes to a 4th of July party with his new-found church friends. He meets another English teacher named Tareck. Tareck is famous for kicking chairs across the classroom to get his students’ attention as well as living in the same apartment as his nudist boss.

Chapter 9 Kidman

Brian meets his first English-speaking co-teacher who goes by the name “Kid.” During their first time out for a hike together Kid confesses to Brian that he was accused by his ex-wife of burning down her house and that he likes dating Japanese women.

Chapter 10 Modem vs. Router

I have my first run in with Korean modems and their downfalls. Jackie comes to my rescue and gives me some much-needed internet advice.

Chapter 11 Golfing in Korea

I meet my first Korean golf instructor who gives me best golf lesson ever using no English. Using my new-found golf skills I decide to golf a few rounds of golf with my new co-teacher George and his brother.

Chapter 12 English Meetings at Angel-In-Us Café

In addition to going to church, I join another group in Korea. This one is and English group and is run by Jackie. I find another way to meet new friends and discuss current events in Korea. Carlo gets taken to the police station and I talk to him before he gets deported from Korea. I also meet my replacement who’s teaching at my previous academy.

Chapter 13 Lesson Plans

Brian reveals the most effective way to plan for his classes; by downloading lessons plans off the internet. Included in these lesson plans is sample menu that is used to help the students role-play the purchasing of a hamburger in class.

Chapter 14 Dating in Korea

Brian shares four case studies of native teachers (males) who are dating Korean women. Included in these case studies are the reactions of the host-woman’s friends, families and social network.

Chapter 15 Surgery on a Budget

Brian get learns the difference between hospitals in Seoul (where the rich Koreans go) and all other hospitals in Korea. Brian finds the best value in Korea which is eye surgery which is priced at $2,500 in Korea vs. $28,000 in the United States. While in the hospital Brian meets an American man named Roman who’s been living in Korea since the 1970′s and publishing a book about a Post-Apocalyptic New England town. When Brian asks Roman who his book publishing agent is Roman replies, “The guy’s an idiot, he’s 62 and has just had his 6th child with his 3rd wife. What kind of a life is that kid going to have?”

“First Contact in Korea: A Native English Teacher’s Journey Into The Backwoods of South Korea” by Brian Ward, can be found on Amazon.com